This is what a senior police officer had to say about gun violence in Sheffield hours before fatal shooting

A 21-year-old man died a short time after being shot while sat in a blue BMW parked within the Diamond Car Wash on Burngreave Road, Burngreave at around 6.45pm on Tuesday.

Speaking just hours before the tragic killing, South Yorkshire Police’s force lead for firearms, Detective Superintendent Paul Murphy was asked about the scale of gun violence in Sheffield and its links to the city’s drug trade and organised crime groups (OCGs).

Det Supt Murphy said there had been a ‘slight increase’ in gun violence in the city since the beginning of last year; and said there was an ‘inevitability’ of ‘where there’s drugs, there’s violence’ – including the use of guns.

He said: “There an inevitability of where there’s drugs there’s violence, unfortunately firearms discharges, and this is why members of the public might think that someone’s just dealing a little bit of cannabis isn’t important. It’s extremely important because the drugs lead to violence, because of the trade, that leads to firearms discharges, that leads to serious harm. So to members of the public - we need their help in reporting anything around drugs, anything around firearms.”

When asked about how deadly the conflict between OCGs fighting for drugs territory in Sheffield is, Det Supt Murphy said: “Gangs and the fight for the drugs trade can result in violence and significant and serious harm to people and that’s one of the reasons why we have seen over the years slight increases in violent crime as the drugs trade has got a hold.”

But he added that police stings such as Operation Musketeer, through which undercover officers have targeted known drug lines in the city, make a ‘real difference’ and ‘the incidents do lessen for a period of time’ as a consequence.

Launched last year, Det Supt Murphy said the operation was predicated on the ‘increase in violence and firearms discharges which predominantly do link to the drugs trade’ and OCGs, and has so far resulted in the conviction of 27 criminals who have been jailed for a combined total of 90 years, seven months.

He said the operation targeted ‘drawn areas’ within a five square mile radius of the city centre, down to the south of the city including areas such as Abbeydale Road, Park Hill and Arbourthorne, where they knew ‘organised criminals were exploiting the drugs trade...leading to increases in violence’.

But Det Supt Murphy said he could not provide a list of the areas most affected by Sheffield’s drug trade.

He did say that a dedicated ‘armed crime team’ was set up 18 months ago in response to the increase in gun crime, which has recently brought a number of criminals to justice including the trio sentenced to 60 years for a double-shooting in Manor.

When asked where guns are being sourced from, Det Supt Murphy continued: “There are various methods of firearms supply, not just in this country, all over Europe, and we work relentlessly from a local level, to a regional level, to a national level, targeting the threat from firearms and the supply routes into the UK.”